“That’s because I am. I’ve never felt such happiness, Adalynn, and I owe it all to Ian.”
****
I stood in front of the rack of dresses in awe over their beauty. Adalynn was on the other side of the shop, working with a bridal consultant and explaining to her the vision she had for her dress. As I was lost in the world of elegant white, a sales woman approached me and handed me a glass of champagne.
“Thank you.” I smiled.
Adalynn walked over to where I was standing with a smile on her face. “Pretty fancy, huh?”
“Everything is so beautiful,” I replied.
“Have a seat over there on the couch. I’m going to try on the few dresses I picked out and I want your honest opinion.”
“Of course I’ll give you my honest opinion, Adalynn.”
She walked into the oversized dressing room as I took my champagne and sat down on the couch. I pulled my phone from my pocket and sent Ian a text.
“I hope you’re having a great day!”
“I am now.”
I smiled.
“I’m off to a meeting, sweetheart. I’ll talk to you later. Love you to pieces.”
“Love you.”
Adalynn cleared her throat to get my attention, and when I looked up, tears sprang to my eyes when I saw the beautiful bride standing before me.
“Adalynn, it’s beautiful. You look so amazing.”
“Nah, I don’t like it,” she said as she looked in the mirror.
“What! How can you not love it?”
“It’s too much dress. I think I’m going to stick with the mermaid style. All this fluff isn’t me.”
I loved the fluff. I could see myself drowning in fluff and loving it every minute of it. Adalynn looked at me and smiled. “I want you to try this on.”
“What? Are you crazy? I’m not trying on that dress!” I exclaimed.
She walked towards me with a wide smile on her face. “Yes, you are. You’ve never tried on a wedding dress and it’s so much fun. Come on!” she said as she held out her hand.
I sighed as I got up. I secretly wanted to try on the dress. I followed her into the dressing room, where she changed out of the dress and handed it to the sales woman. She took me in the room next to Adalynn’s and helped me into the wedding gown. I stepped outside the dressing room and stood in front of the large three-way mirror. Adalynn came out in a stunning Vera Wang, strapless, mermaid-style dress that was simply made for her.
“Rory, look at you. You look gorgeous. How do you feel?” she asked.
“Like a princess.” I smiled. “I didn’t realize how heavy wedding dresses are.” I laughed.
“That they are. Well, what do you think?” Adalynn asked as she spun around.
“It’s gorgeous and it’s you. It’s perfect.”
She walked over to where the veils sat on a beautifully etched glass shelf. She picked one up that was a crown and set it on top of my head.
“There. Now you’re complete.” She smiled.
I gulped as I stood there, staring at myself in a beautiful wedding dress and veil. I remembered when I was a child, I would sit and look at magazines with my mom and sometimes there would be pictures of brides. She would look at me and say that one day that would be me and she couldn’t wait to see me as a bride. My eyes started to fill with tears and I couldn’t let Adalynn see me so emotional, so I went back into the dressing room to change out of the dress and back into my clothes.
“Are you okay, Rory?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just overwhelming, you know. Getting married is something that I’ve always dreamed of and now that I’ve found the love of my life, he wants nothing to do with marriage.”
“That was the old Ian, sweetie. I’m sure he’s had a change of heart since he thought he lost you. I know it’s way too soon, but has he mentioned marriage at all?”
“No.” I softly smiled as I looked down. “We don’t talk about it at all. We’re just enjoying each other right now.”
“And that’s how it should be. You two have your whole lives ahead of you.” She winked. “Now, I think I’m going to buy this dress.”
****
“There you are,” Ian said as we walked through the door.
“Hey, baby.” I smiled as he kissed me hello.
“It’s about time. I thought maybe you went and kidnapped my girl, Adalynn.”
Adalynn looked at him and rolled her eyes. “Keep calm, Ian. You know us girls when we shop.”
“Did you buy anything, sweetheart?” he asked.
“No, she didn’t, but she tried on the most beautiful wedding dress. Oh, Ian, you should’ve seen her.”
When Ian looked at me, I could tell he wasn’t very pleased.
“It was nothing. I was bored,” I said as I put my hand on his chest.
Ian gave me a small smile and walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. “Adalynn? Rory?” he asked.
“No, thank you, darling. I have to get home. Daniel and I have invitations to go through. I’ll call you later, Rory,” she said as she leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Ta-ta, Ian.”
“I’m sure I’ll be seeing you at breakfast tomorrow,” he said.
Adalynn turned around and looked at him before heading out the door. “Thank you for the invite, Ian. I’ll be sure to stop by before I head to Prim.” She smiled.
As soon as she left, I walked over to the bar and asked Ian to pour me a glass of wine. “We had fun today and Adalynn found the perfect dress.”
“That’s good,” he said as he took a sip of his bourbon.
“Is something wrong, Ian?”
I could tell by his demeanor and the way he said “that’s good” that something wasn’t right with him. “Are you upset that I tried on a wedding dress?” I bravely asked.
“You really shouldn’t be doing things like that. I don’t want you to get your hopes up. You know where I stand on marriage, Rory.”
And just like that, he brought me down from my high. A few words spoken from his mouth changed my entire mood. I could sense an argument brewing if I kept pressing it, so I simply told Ian what he wanted to hear.
“I know, my love. Don’t worry. It was only for fun, nothing else.” I smiled as I kissed him softly on the lips.
“Well, I’m glad you had fun.” He pulled me into an embrace and kissed the top of my head.